"The August 24, 2014 South Napa Earthquake has again served
as a reminder that masonry chimneys in wood‐frame dwellings
are extremely vulnerable to earthquake shaking. FEMA
assessment teams observed over 100 brick masonry chimneys
damaged in the South Napa Earthquake (Figures 1 and 2). Older,
unreinforced masonry chimneys with degraded mortar are
most vulnerable, but even masonry chimneys constructed
according to modern standards are susceptible to significant
damage. Collapses of previously damaged and reconstructed
chimneys were also observed. This Recovery Advisory recommends best practices for reconstruction of earthquake-damaged masonry chimneys in one- and two-family dwellings to minimize risk of damage in future earthquakes."

United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

2015-01

'M'w 6.0 South Napa Earthquake of August 24, 2014--Observations of Surface Faulting and Ground Deformation, with Recommendations for Improving Post-Earthquake Field Investigations

From the Document: "The 'M'w [moment magnitude] 6.0 South Napa earthquake of August 24, 2014, produced complex and extensive surface faulting and other ground deformation features. Following the event, geologists made more than 1,200 field observations at locations where tectonic faulting and ground failure produced visible deformation that fractured and disturbed the ground surface. At a few locations, large-scale, detailed, field-based maps of fault rupture and ground deformation were produced. The South Napa earthquake response was one of the first times when post-earthquake reconnaissance data were mostly collected and disseminated electronically. The advantages and opportunities these new methods bring to our research also pose new challenges to large-scale compilation efforts and demonstrate the value of developing guidelines and better standardization across the community to more optimally utilize developing technology in future post-earthquake investigations. Some suggestions for standardizing the collection and dissemination of post-earthquake field reconnaissance data are provided herein."

Geological Survey (U.S.)

Ponti, Daniel J.; Rosa, Carla M.; Blair, J. L. (James Luke)

2019

FEMA Provided an Effective Response to the Napa, California, Earthquake

Why the report was performed: "In August 2014, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck the northern San Francisco, California, area. Following a major disaster, FEMA officials must take decisive actions responding to the event and initiating recovery efforts. However, FEMA's actions must also protect taxpayer dollars. To assist FEMA in this challenge, we deploy staff to disasters to evaluate FEMA's operations and to help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of Federal funds." The report's results: "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responded effectively to the Napa, California, earthquake. FEMA (1) effectively coordinated activities in the heaviest affected communities before the September 11, 2014, declaration; (2) successfully executed the National Response Plan's Incident Action Planning Guide to overcome or mitigate operational challenges; and (3) effectively coordinated resources with Federal, California, and local partners while using methods to save costs in several areas. FEMA realized savings because it avoided paying for office space and other operational costs that generally total more than a million dollars for disasters similar in size as the 2014 Napa California earthquake. By February 4, 2015, FEMA had obligated $3.4 million for the Public Assistance Grant Program and more than $10.9 million for the Individual Assistance Program." The Investigator General (IG) made no recommendations, and FEMA concurred with all of the IG's findings.

United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General

2015-05-13

Performance of Buildings and Nonstructural Components in the 2014 South Napa Earthquake

From the Preface: "California is subject to frequent damaging earthquakes, and each one presents an opportunity to study the impacts, improve our understanding of how buildings perform when subjected to strong ground shaking, and update building codes and standards for improved building performance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the Mitigation Assessment Team (MAT) program to investigate post-disaster building performance and develop recommendations that address improvements in building design and construction, code development, enforcement, and mitigation activities that will lead to greater resistance to hazard events. The FEMA MAT program, however, is not currently set up to investigate the performance of buildings after earthquakes. On August 24, 2014, a magnitude-6.0 earthquake occurred in Napa, California. In response to this earthquake, the Special Projects task of the National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP) under FEMA Contract HSFE60-12-D-024 with the Applied Technology Council (ATC) was used to fund an investigation. At the time, this event had not yet been declared a federal disaster, and disaster funds were therefore not available. Because of limitations to this funding, some issues, such as performance of lifelines or building investigations in additional areas, could not be investigated."

"The August 24, 2014 South Napa earthquake has
reinforced past observations that wood-frame dwellings
with flexible wood foundation walls (known as cripple
walls) and inadequate anchorage (bolting) to the
foundation are vulnerable to damage from earthquake
shaking (Figure 1). Damage due to vulnerable cripple
walls, particularly taller cripple walls, can be significant
and costly to repair. In addition, homes with cripple wall
damage are usually identified as unsafe to occupy (i.e.,
'red tagged'). As a result, occupants will be displaced
and unable to live in their home until repairs can be
performed, adding living expenses to the cost of
repairing earthquake damage."

United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency

2015-04

VS30 at Three Strong-Motion Recording Stations in Napa and Napa County, California--Main Street in Downtown Napa, Napa Fire Station Number 3, and Kreuzer Lane-- Calculations Determined from S-Wave Refraction Tomography and Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (Rayleigh and Love)

From the Introduction: "In May 2015, we acquired high-resolution seismic profiles near three strong-motion recording stations in the City and County of Napa, California (fig. 1). These three strong-motion stations recorded 2 horizontal peak ground accelerations (PGAs) ranging from 0.329 g (the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface) to 0.611 g (table 1), among the highest recorded in the Napa area during the August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake. Our goal was to evaluate the seismic velocities of the underlying geologic material at the strong-motion sites using P- and S-wave refraction tomography and analysis of surface waves and to evaluate time-averaged shear-wave velocities (VS) in the upper 30 meters (m) of the subsurface (VS30) at the sites using methods similar to those used by Catchings and others (2018). In this report, we present results from the three sites--Downtown Napa and Napa Fire Station Number 3, both within the City of Napa, and at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Kreuzer Lane in Napa County."

"The damaging 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes caused a considerable number of fatalities and economic losses in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles region, respectively. In both earthquakes, elevated freeways collapsed, hospitals and unreinforced masonry buildings were damaged, and some multistory buildings having weak first floors (soft-story buildings) collapsed. A span of the eastern section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The earthquake hazard in the San Francisco Bay Area remains high. The most recent earthquake forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area is a 72 percent likelihood of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the next 30 years (Aagaard and others, 2016). The damaging 2014 South Napa earthquake was a recent reminder of the ongoing hazard posed by earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area (Brocher and others, 2015). As a result of this and prior earthquake forecasts by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the losses sustained in the 1989 earthquake, government agencies as well as groups in the private and nonprofit sectors have invested in more than 700 structural retrofits and replacements to older structures, motivated by desire to mitigate the impacts of future earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Area and to improve the resiliency of the Bay Area community. Many of these are public investments that were supported by the electorate. The purpose of this report is to provide a compilation of structural retrofits and replacements of older buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area that have either been completed since 1989 or that are in progress as of October 2018. For the purposes of this report, all or parts of nine Bay Area counties were included: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Santa Cruz County was not included. The compilation of 700 investments is presented as a table in the appendix. We consider this table as version 1, as we urge that those familiar with additional projects contact the report authors with information to update the table. In total, we have identified $73 to $80 billion in investments to retrofit or replace structures to mitigate the impacts of future San Francisco Bay Area earthquakes. These totals represent an average investment of $2.5 to $2.8 billion per year in retrofits and replacement of structures since 1989."

From the Introduction: "In May 2015, we acquired high-resolution seismic profiles near three strong-motion recording stations in Napa and Solano Counties, California (fig. 1; stations 4 to 6). These three strong-motion stations recorded horizontal peak ground accelerations (PGAs) ranging from 0.329 g (the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface) to 0.469 g (table 1), among the highest recorded in the Napa and Vallejo areas during the August 24, 2014, moment magnitude (Mw) 6.0 South Napa earthquake. Our goal was to evaluate the seismic velocities of the underlying geologic materials at the strong-motion sites using P- and S-wave refraction tomography and analysis of surface waves and to evaluate time-averaged shear-wave velocities (VS) in the upper 30 meters (m) of the subsurface (VS30) at the sites using methods similar to those used by Catchings and others (2018). In this report, we present results from the three sites--Lovall Valley Loop Road in Napa County (NCSN N019B), Broadway Street and Sereno Drive in Vallejo (CGS 68294), and Vallejo Fire Station on Marin Street and Overland Alley (NSMP 1759)."

"On August 24, 2014, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northern California. FEMA expects eligible damages in Napa County, California (County), from the earthquake and aftershocks to exceed $6 million. We conducted this audit early in the grant process to identify areas where the County may need additional technical assistance or monitoring to ensure compliance with Federal requirements. FEMA should disallow about $1 million in ineligible contract costs and direct California, as the grantee, to provide the County additional technical assistance and monitoring, and review contracts for compliance with Federal requirements."

United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following articles: "Influences of Preparedness Knowledge and Beliefs on Household Disaster Preparedness"; "CDC Grand Grounds: Addressing Preparedness Challenges for Children in Public Health Emergencies"; "Injuries and Traumatic Psychological Exposures Associated with the South Napa Earthquake -- California, 2014"; "Elilmination of Ebola Virus Transmission in Liberia -- September 3, 2015"; and "Ebola Virus Disease -- Sierra Leone and Guinea, August 2015".

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

2015-09-11

Countering False Information on Social Media in Disasters and Emergencies: Social Media Working Group for Emergency Services and Disaster Management

"This white paper examines motivations people may have for sharing false information, discusses underlying issues that cause false information and offers case studies from recent disasters to illustrate the problem. Multiple motives lead people to post false information on social media: some posters seek a particular result, such as closing schools for the day; some desire to get attention with a dramatic post; some are pushing a money-making scam or political agenda; and some innocently repeat bad or outdated information. Best practices for agencies to counter misinformation, rumors and false information are detailed and categorized in this white paper, and challenges and additional considerations are presented for review. This report illustrates methods of countering false information on social media with case studies: the 2014 South Napa earthquake: tweets were filtered by geolocation to eliminate posts from trolls; the 2016 Louisiana floods: the Red Cross published and shared a blog to counter rumors and misinformation about food distribution and shelter policies; the 2017 Oroville Dam evacuation: an accidentally misleading tweet suggested the evacuation area included all of Sacramento County. Local agencies used traditional and social media to provide correct information."